Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.")

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network.

Aero-Tips 09.01.06

I hate feeling like I'm behind schedule. But sometimes it just happens. A little tardiness is okay sometimes, but when an airplane goes from being "tardy" to being overdue, it's time for Search And Rescue (SAR) to kick in.

Calling SAR

Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) and Flight Service Stations (FSSs) will alert search and rescue forces if they feel a flight is overdue or missing. Trigger events for SAR include:

• Unexpected loss of radio and radar contact by ARTCC. This includes IFR airplanes and "participating" VFR airplanes (those receiving VFR Flight Following).
• A filed VFR flight plan that is not closed by the pilot within 30 minutes of the filed or amended Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA). Note: Don't forget to close your VFR flight plan after landing, to avoid inadvertently causing a resources-draining search.
• Detection of an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signal.

A filed flight plan is the most timely and effective means of ensuring SAR activation if you go overdue. Flight plan data (route, speed, fuel available, persons on board) provide information critical to narrowing down the search area and responding properly to an overdue or downed aircraft.

Homeland security

You can add a little security from those at home by letting them know when you plan to arrive, or arrange to call someone at home after you touch down at destination. A U.S. Air Force review of 325 search and rescue missions during a 23-month period revealed that 36 hours normally pass before family concern activates a search. This despite the National Search and Rescue Plan's assertion that "life expectancy of an injured survivor decreases as much as 80 percent during the first 24 hours, while the chances of survival of uninjured survivors diminishes after the first three days." The folks at home can help improve your chances significantly if they contact SAR.

Aero-tip of the day: Make them come looking for you. File a flight plan and participate in ATC services; tell your family your plans and how to contact SAR as a back-up in case you go overdue.

FMI: Aero-Tips